Snowden contacted Russia before he left Hong Kong, suggesting arrival in Moscow hardly a 'surprise': report

Edward Snowden, the fugitive American whistleblower, contacted the Russian authorities long before he arrived in Moscow, suggesting a much closer degree of co-operation than previously thought, a newspaper in Russia has claimed.

The NSA leaker spent two days in the Russian Consulate in Hong Kong directly before flying to Moscow on what turned out to be an abortive attempt to reach asylum in Latin America, the respected newspaper Kommersant reported Monday, citing unidentified sources “in Snowden’s circle” and the Russian government.

If true, the reports belie Russian claims that Snowden’s arrival in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport came as a “complete surprise” and raise fresh questions about the degree of cooperation between him, the Kremlin and WikiLeaks, which has been providing him with legal assistance. A Russian government source confirmed that Snowden had spent two days at the consulate, but insisted that he had approached the Russians on his own initiative after buying a ticket to Havana via Moscow.

Western diplomats are now said to be convinced that the Russians approached Snowden themselves.

Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who leaked information about the scope of U.S. government surveillance, flew to Moscow on June 23, with a ticket that would take him on to Cuba the following day. From there he could travel to countries willing to offer him asylum, including Bolivia and Venezuela. But he did not board the flight to Havana and remained in limbo until being granted asylum in Russia on Aug. 1.

Kommersant, citing a Russian government official, reported that Snowden appeared at the Russian Consulate in Hong Kong on his own initiative two days before the flight, showed his Aeroflot ticket and asked for help. Two days after Snowden landed in Moscow, Putin said that his choice of travel route and his request for Russia’s help had come as a “complete surprise.” This was interpreted at the time as referring to his arrival in Moscow, but Putin did not specify.

On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it would have no immediate comment.

The newspaper, citing several “informed” sources, said that Cuba informed Russia that the Aeroflot flight from Moscow would not be allowed to land in Havana if Snowden were on board, citing pressure from the United States. A source identified as someone “close to the State Department” confirmed to the paper that Cuba was among a number of countries that had been warned not to provide assistance to Snowden.

Snowden fled the U.S. after revealing details about the National Security Agency’s surveillance programmes. He was granted asylum in Moscow earlier this month, much to the anger of President Barack Obama, who cancelled a meeting with President Vladimir Putin to express anger at Russia’s “Cold War mentality”.

Snowden has not been seen in public since arriving at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. Between his arrival on June 23 and being granted asylum nearly six weeks later, the Russian government said Snowden was limited to the airport’s transit zone. He held a closed meeting in the airport with representatives of human rights groups in mid-July.

After he was granted asylum, he was allowed to leave the airport, but there have been no reports of where he’s staying.